Supersonic Missile Downed Malaysia Airlines Plane, Photos Suggest

New photographic evidence of the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 suggests that a Soviet-era supersonic missile most likely took down the Boeing 777 jetliner over Ukraine last week.

Photos published by the New York Times yesterday (July 21) offer a close-up view of debris from the plane crash, with pieces of the commercial jet riddled with small holes that experts say were likely caused by high-velocity shrapnel from an SA-11 missile.

Commonly known as a Buk missile in Russia, the SA-11 is a surface-to-air (SAM) weapon designed to launch from the ground and destroy flying targets, such as incoming missiles, aircraft and smartbombs. But unlike “hit to kill” missiles that crash into their targets and explode, the SA-11 is a fragmentation warhead that explodes before it makes contact with its target.